VIJAYAWADA: With an objective to transform the power sector of the state into a reliable, affordable and consumer-centric sector, the state power utilities have set a target of reducing annual power purchase cost by Rs 700 crore. The government has already asked utilities to procure only cost effective power from power exchanges.
Addressing a webinar on the priorities of the government pertaining to energy sector in 2021-22, Energy secretary Srikant Nagulapalli said that the focus would be on meeting the strong demand growth in energy sector in the coming years. The utilities would lay emphasis on reliable nine-hour daytime agriculture free power supply to 18 lakh pumpsets, which is one of the flagship programmes of the state government, the secretary said.
The Transmission Corporation of Andhra Pradesh (APTRANSCO) is also taking all steps for transmission and distribution infrastructure in the state, and augmentation is planned to evacuate power from the upcoming renewable projects. On other hand, the State government is making all efforts to bail out the Discoms, a statement from energy department on Sunday said. “At the same time, the utilities have set a target of reducing annual power purchase cost by Rs 700 crore, which is one of the key targets of utilities for 2021- 22,” it said.
As part of achieving cost effective power, the utilities have focused on adopting cutting-edge technologies.
“Deploying the day-ahead energy forecast system was one of the significant steps towards this objective. The Transmission Corporation of Andhra Pradesh is also planning to initiate automation in a few selected substations to prevent interruptions in power supply and improve quality of power,” the statement added.
It further added that improving satisfaction of around 1.5 crore electricity consumers would be given more priority in the coming days. “The power sector will achieve more success by attaining the consumers’ support,” he said.